Starring: Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Baby Juhaina
Director: Sajid Khan
When we think of comedian Sajid Khan, we think of humor, jokes, laughter, funny one-liners and light moments. As a result, it comes as no surprise that his directorial venture Heyy Babyy falls under the comic genre. The man, undoubtedly, understands humor very well and has a fantastic sense for comedy. With sister Farah Khan’s second film, Om Shanti Om, just months away from release; it’s interesting to see what her brother has in store for us.
Comedy flicks can be of two types – those that are totally brainless and make no sense whatsoever, or those which are sensible, as well as, funny at the same time. Heyy Babyy definitely belongs to the latter category as it entertains you with its hilarious sequences and also, makes you shed a tear or two at its emotionally realistic scenes. It has the perfect blend of comedy and emotion – the most integral components for a hit movie!
Heyy Babyy revolves around three good-looking bachelors from Sydney, Arush (Akshay Kumar), Ali aka Al (Fardeen Khan), and Tanmay (Riteish Deshmukh) who are completely bindaas and just want to have fun in life. No prizes for guessing that their definition of ‘fun’ is getting plenty of action (and that doesn’t just mean flirting) with all the pretty ladies around. Arush runs a popular nightclub in the city, whereas Tanmay has the highly entertaining job of playing Eddy Teddy at parties (His logic is that girls like to sleep with teddy bears – need I say more?). Al, on the other hand, does nothing but gamble and lives a carefree life.
However, as the saying goes that ‘all good things come to an end’ and suddenly, the bachelors’ oh-so-cool lifestyle, including their philandering ways get thrown into confusion and disorder with the arrival of little Angel, a cute 8-month old baby at their doorstep. Sajid Khan wastes no time in introducing the baby and five minutes into the film, you will find yourself laughing uncontrollably as the three handsome dudes struggle to take care of Angel – changing her nappies, feeding her, dealing with her tantrums and so on. If the first few scenes make you laugh, then the following scenes do a complete about-turn and make you cry when Arush, Tanmay and Al decide to abandon the baby at someone’s doorstep and she ends up critically ill due to the pouring rain. It is this one sequence which brings a complete change in the attitudes of the three guys and they transform from being careless and carefree bachelors to doting, caring and responsible fathers. Their fatherly behavior is almost endearing and makes you smile to no end. In fact, a dialogue that Riteish mouths completely sums up this situation – “Pehle, hum bad the, ab hum Dad hai!” which translates into ‘First we were bad, now we are Dad!” – couldn’t have been said better!
The first-half of the film is fast-paced, to the point, and builds up to a surprising interval (without giving anything away). The interaction between Angel and Arush/Al/Tanmay is very, very cute. The scenes where the three of them are on the lookout for the mother of the baby are extremely funny – with the number of times they get slapped and beaten up! The second-half, though not as good as the first, is still quite enjoyable. It includes a few flashbacks, sequences of Al trying to woo Isha (Vidya Balan), as well as his and Tanmay’s efforts at getting back the baby. The scenes where Fardeen acts as ‘Professor Parimal Tripathi’ are absolutely hilarious, especially the one in the car. However, certain scenes in the second-half do tend to drag a bit and get a little too dramatic at some points. Also, atleast one song could have been edited out post the interval. That being said, these flaws are way too tiny and are easily overcome by the brilliance of the remaining portions.
Cinematography of the film is amazing. The locales of Sydney, Brisbane, and Gold Coast are beautifully captured. Screenplay and dialogues are simply great – nothing over the top. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is definitely the plus point of the movie and the picturization of the songs are equally splendid. The foot-tapping title track (which has a number of actresses doing their thing) and ‘Mast Kalandar’, featuring Shahrukh Khan (who adds to the star value of the film), are sure to be the most popular numbers of Heyy Babyy.
Akshay Kumar is the life of the film. We all know that he’s a pure genius at comedy and, no doubt, his comic timing is spot-on this time around too! His expressions and dialogues are just hilarious, and not only does he make you laugh, but he also manages to get you very emotional at the same time – which is not at all an easy thing to do, and only an actor par excellence can do that.
Fardeen and Riteish provide the support for Akshay in the film. Fardeen Khan is fabulous. It’s been a while since his last two comic capers, No Entry and Pyare Mohan, and he surely impresses us yet again! Riteish Deshmukh excels as always. He is too cute and funny. His performance is certainly noteworthy!
The chemistry between the three lead actors is impeccable – it definitely cannot be missed! They seem at complete ease with each other.
Vidya Balan not only looks gorgeous, but acts great as well. It’s a refreshing change to see her play a slightly different, more aggressive character. Not only that, it’s nice to see her dress differently too – a pleasant departure from her typical Indian look (in most of her previous films) to a comfortable, western avatar.
Boman Irani doesn’t get much scope, but is wonderful in the few scenes that he has, what more can we expect from an actor of his caliber! Angel, the baby (Baby Juhaina) is too adorable for words; her expressions and cheeky smiles are extremely cute.
Anupam Kher is sufficient in the little role that he has.
On the whole, Heyy Babyy is a very well made film, a great entertainer with the correct mix of comedy and drama. Get ready to laugh endlessly, shed a tear here and there…add the casts’ awesome performances to that, and you’ve got the whole package! Take a bow Sajid Khan – your first babyy is definitely worth our ticket!
